Sibanye-Stillwater vows to defend itself against looming lawsuit in US

Sibanye-Stillwater said it will "vigorously defend" itself against a possible lawsuit in the US over deaths of mineworkers at its operations. File picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Johannesburg - Sibanye-Stillwater on Thursday said that it will "vigorously defend" itself against a possible lawsuit in the United States over deaths of mineworkers at its operations in South Africa.

"The company notes the publicity and, if any claims are ultimately filed against the company intends to vigorously defend itself. We will continue to monitor developments closely," Sibanye said in a statement.

This comes after a US law firm Bernstein Liebhard on Thursday filed a class action lawsuit against Sibanye on behalf of shareholders to recover their losses following a sharp decline in its share price after a spate of fatalities at its mines.

Following the death of another worker at its Khomanani operations in Driefontein on Tuesday, 21 of the 45 deaths in the South African mining industry for 2018, have occurred at a Sibanye mine.

Bernstein Liebhardo said in a statement that the suit would deal with "misleading statements" Sibanye made which has had 21 fatalities on its operations in 2018, almost half the total in SA’s mining industry.